“shouldn’t it?”
“he manor anymore. you doo keep any more favours for my mother. you’ve done your part.”
“i’m not doing this for your mother.”
& are you doing it for? beause you want to be friends with me?” drao ughs, harsh and derisive, and harry tries to stop the hurt fr in. “it’s suffoatiher somebody else with yoddamned hero omplex. i’m sure there’s a lot who’d love to have your attention.”
it’s hat drao says still stings.
harry looks away, uo look at drao’s sneer a wheeo his fae without it. “yes, malfoy, i do want to be friends with you,” he mutters. he takes a deep breath to ease the tightness ihought we already were.”
&ao flee, ready to lik his wounds. “i guess not.”
and drao rumples to the floor with a dull thud.
wheo, harry’s too tired from the onsught of emotiohrough for the day to expiing on the floor of the ompartment, legs folded in awkward a the tight spae, and arms pressed agaiher.
“welome bak,” harry says instead. “i fixed your fae.”
drao’s head is bent gerously lose to harry’s shoulder. he does. “my fae doesn’t need fixing. it’s impeable.”
the smile is in harry’s voie. “mm-hmm.”
minerva mgonagall, ress, welomes all of them. after delivering a short but emotiohat leaves mas dabbing at their eyes with their sleeves, the s and the welomi begins. csses resume as usual, with the eighth years followihe seventh years.
but muh is different, inluding the unusually quiet atmosphere of the shool, made by the redued student popution and the grim, physial remihe war that had ourred in these very halls just months ago.
some areas are still bloked for repairs, with the promise that repairs are to be omplete before halloween.
& mo of all: studeheir reservations at ambushi and right to ask for pitures and autographs. he finds that he an’t evehe on room without someoing to him and asking him how he ‘vahe dark lord’. hermioo spending long hours in the library just to be able to study ih a grumble of the time somebody disturbs me in the on room, i might atually hex their lips off.
worst of all, adding to his budding irritatio even go near drao a being bloked by a doting fan, though, harry thinks, this is probably a good thing. drao rated what he had said bak is express, and his words have done a good job in onvining harry to grit his teeth ahe urge to atively seek out blond hair and pale skin.
but even so, at night, with a se gleefully lounging in his stomah, he a return to old habits:
looking at the marauders’ map.
“huh,” hermios one fine weekend m.
“huh?” ron asks, looking up from the hike he had bee’s huh?”
hermi her quill, and there is aome id out beside her half-eaten pte of breakfast. ron and harry have tried a her to stop studying oable. (“it’s too early for me to look at a book, “mione!”ron had failingly pleaded.)
“huh,” hermios, pointio the other side of the room.
ron looks at where she’s pointing, blihen also says, “huh.”
harry, who is sitting aross from them and thus faing bakwards from their soure of uriosity, turns o are you guys looking at?”
&he great hall, but sees nothing out of the ordinary. it’s already te in the m, a hall is not as rowded as it usually is duriudents mill around and groups of frieher in hithat aurns bak to his own friends. “i do.”
ron sn bak to his beloved pie. “i’m surprised. you’re always the first to see him.”
harry’s heeks slowly olour as he realizes wh about. “i haveely.”
ron rolls his eyes. “i see you with the map at night, harry.”
“i doo look for him!” harry defends, blushing furiously, but he immediately knows that it’s a patheti lie. ron and hermione’s eyebrows are both raised. “not just him.”
“bolloks,” ron says. “you better start using it rass, t awfully touhy.”
it’s really taking a lot of self-ontrol not to turn i now. there’s an ahe i he’s used to that, so he stubb. “well, it’s not any of my busi?”
hermio him sympathetially. “i guess not.”
harry starts looking frass in the marauders’ map.
he’s dismayed to find that, over the ourse of the few weeks, her name and drao’s en than her iherin on room.